London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Julian Assange is prepared to stay in the Ecuador embassy in London for five years rather than face the US legal system, the country’s foreign minister said today.

Ricardo Patino also said that the Wikileaks founder would not be smuggled out of the embassy in the boot of a car.

Mr Patino said: “I hope Mr Assange will not grow old and die in our embassy — but we are defending human rights.” Mr Patino met Mr Assange on Sunday and said he was “in good spirits” despite the “limitations of his accommodations”.

Mr Assange fled to the embassy on June 19 last year to escape extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over sex assault allegations by two women, which he denies.

He fears that if he is sent to Sweden he may be extradited to the United States over the leaking of US government papers on the Wikileaks website. Mr Patino made his comments after meeting Foreign Secretary William Hague about how to resolve the deadlock over Mr Assange, who faces arrest if he leaves the embassy.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the ministers had agreed to set up a “working group” to find a way through the impasse, but added that no “substantive progress” had been made.

The spokesman said: “The Foreign Secretary was clear once again that any resolution would need to be within the laws of the United Kingdom.”